The Dec. 5, 2012 episode, amusingly titled "Pike Place Pickle," was - well, let's not mince words: it was a massacre. The chefs' efforts in the elimination challenge were so terrible, nobody won the $10,000 prize. And judge Tom Colicchio seemed so angry - maybe because he had to apologize to the artisans - you could practically see steam coming off his bald head as he told the chefs there would be no winner this week.

The chefs were given one ingredient to make their dish. Kristen paired up with Micah to concoct a recipe with cheese curds (which sounds more versatile than, say, truffle popcorn). They made "cheese curds three ways," and the end product was criticized for not even remotely resembling curds.

That was minor compared to what was about to come. John and Joshua, mortal enemies, inexplicably paired up (probably because producers want to amplify the drama), and made truffle popcorn grits, which were lambasted - judge Tom Acheson said they "sucked." Joshua kept saying he didn't want to start an argument with John, and it seems as if the compromises resulted in a dish criticized for not being very creative.

However, the judges saved their most vicious criticism for Tyler and CJ, who would ultimately get the boot. Given a spicy dill pickle as their ingredient, they decided to put it on a pork burger, which prompted Colicchio, infuriated that they couldn't come up with a better recipe, to unleash a nasty bit of sarcasm: "Well of course! Pickle on a burger!"

Ouch.

As CJ exited the judges' room 'o' death, he inquired about another group's dish, which he said was terrible. Acheson jabbed back, "Well, your burger was worse."

Double ouch.

So Kristen's lack of face time this week was a blessing in disguise. Her exemption from the worst of the criticism meant she'll be back next week. So hooray for us Michganders, and we'll continue follow Kristen's "Top Chef" adventures. Be sure to check out our weekly live chat for every episode, hosted by MLive's Todd Chance (last night's chat can be viewed here).